Summer Quote Contest!
by Amela333
Summary: The results are in!
1. Chapter 1

Hello all, and happy summer!

I know I've fallen off the face of the Fanfiction earth lately, and I don't know exactly when I'll update next (though it should be soon). So, rather than let myself be forgotten completely, I've decided to hold a…*drum roll*

SUMMER CONTEST!

Here's how it goes:

On the 1st of July, I'm going to post a list of quotes in the second chapter of this. **You review this/PM me and tell me which quote you want. **Once a quote is taken, it can't be taken by anyone else (I'll keep updating the same list and making the taken ones **bold**). You may only choose one quote. There will be many types of quotes - long quotes, short quotes, song quotes, book quotes, fortune cookie quotes (do you call those quotes?). If you end up not liking your quote, you're allowed to switch, but **don't start writing anything until I've okay'd the quote for you to use – I don't want anyone to be screwed if I take a while to update the list and mark which quotes have been taken. MAKE SURE YOU TELL ME WHAT QUOTE YOU WANT!**

HERE'S THE BIG AWESOME CATCH!

I decided that, for this contest, you can write in the _Darren Shan Saga/Cirque du Freak _fandom, the _Saga of Larten Crepsley _fandom, OR the _Harry Potter_ fandom, in celebration of the new movie (AHHH!) and the Pottermore announcement! Also, if you're so inclined, you may write a crossover. If you somehow crossover all three, you're a genius.

**So, here are the basics:**

-Write a one-shot based off the quote

-Deadline is July 31st

-Any genre

-It must be original work for this contest

-It must be a one-shot, but however long or short that one-shot will be is up to you.

**-**Any characters (but please avoid the OC's if possible), any setting, any rating, any pairing (I'd much prefer canon pairings, but if you like mixing and matching, go for it…BUT - I won't read Larten/Darren or pairings between anyone who should have a parent/child relationship (i.e. making Darren a female does not make it any better…).

-I'll be looking at a number of different aspects when grading, including originality, characterization, use of the quote, flow, spelling, grammar, etc.

-**IMPORTANT**! **PM ME AFTER YOU POST IT! I will review your story once I've read it. If you do not receive a review from me, assume I haven't read your story or counted it in the contest and nag me until I acknowledge what you wrote!**

As a prize...I'm not sure. If you win, PM me and we'll talk about it :P I'm open to ideas!

That's about all I can think of. Anything else I remember will go in the next chapter with the quotes. I'll try to put a bunch of them in there.

Also, if I get very few responses on this, I might just cancel it…so if you're into the contest idea, let me know!

And that's all from me for now – I'm off to finish up my second-to-last essay of highschool (!), work on 'Sixth Path', and try to salvage an old, unposted story for Roxypony's SYTYCTVF contest!


	2. Quotes!

All righty, here they are! It's quote time! So, choose one of the quotes below. If the quote is in **bold, **it means someone has already taken it and you may not use that quote! Even if it isn't in bold, PM me before you start writing, because I might have just not updated the list yet! I'll be at camp over the weekend with limited access to the internet (I'll still get back to your PMs ASAP because I can do that on my phone, but the list might not get updated too frequently).

IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU TELL ME WHICH QUOTE YOU ARE USING AS SOON AS YOU'VE DECIDED ON ONE!

I also apologize that most of the quotes are from songs. I just fall in love with song quotes. And Dumbledore quotes :)

Here they are! I hope you see some you like! Happy choosing!

* * *

><p><span>From charactersauthors/philosophers/random people:

To the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure - Albus Dumbledore (J. K. Rowling)

Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light - Albus Dumbledore (Steven Kloves - screenplay)

It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live - Albus Dumbledore (J. K. Rowling)

**We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love - Dr. Seuss**

**In the end, it's not going to matter how many breaths you took, but how many moments took your breath away - Shing Xiong**

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step - Lao Tzu

Life's truest happiness is found in friendships we make along the way - Unknown

**All that is gold does not glitter; not all those who wander are lost - J. R. R. Tolkien**

**All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us - Gandalf (J. R. R. Tolkien)**

It's time to have a party - fortune cookie

Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life - fortune cookie

(^Yes, those were fortune cookies...)

From songs:

It's dizzying, the possibilities. Ashes, Ashes all fall down - Throwing Stones (Grateful Dead)

**You're so mean when you talk about yourself, you are wrong. Change the voices in your head, make them like you instead - F****** Perfect (P!nk)**

It's only half past the point of no return, the tip of the iceberg, the sun before the burn, the thunder before lightning, the breathe before the phrase...have you ever felt this way? - Glitter in the Air (P!nk)

Raise a glass to mend all the broken heart of all my wrecked-up friends - Speechless (Lady Gaga)

You're gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul. Don't come back to me, don't come back at all - Jar of Hearts (Christina Perri)

**Let's run away and don't ever look back - Teenage Dream (Katy Perry)**

Would you tell me I was wrong? Would you help me understand? Are you looking down upon me? Are you proud of who I am? - Hurt (Christina Aguilera)

When happily ever after fails and we've been poisned by these fairytales... - The End of the Innocence (Don Henley)

Remember when the days were long and rolled beneath the deep blue sky? - The End of the Innocence (Don Henley)

Plain old Jane told a story 'bout a man who was too afraid to fly so he never did land - Drops of Jupiter (Train)

Did you make it to the Milkyway to see the lights all faded, and that heaven is overrated? - Drops of Jupiter (Train)

**I'll let you go, I'll set you free, and when you see what you need to see, when you find you, come back to me - Come Back to Me (David Cook)**

Is this the moment where I look you in the eye? Forgive my broken promise that you'll never see me cry - Permanent (David Cook)

When all you know seems so far away and everyting is temporary rest you head, I'm permanent - Permanent (David Cook)

It may sound absurd but don't be naive, even heroes have the right to bleed. I may be disturbed, but won't you concede, even heroes have the right to dream? - Superman (Five for Fighting)

We're one but we're not the same, well we hurt each other then we do it again - One (U2)

I can't keep holding on to what you've got if all you've got is hurt - One (U2)

**This is me swallowing my pride standing in front of you saying I'm sorry for that night - Back to December (Taylor Swift)**

**You gave me roses, and I left them there to die - Back to December (Taylor Swift)**

**Time's flying by, moving so fast, better make it count 'cause you can't get it back - So Small (Carrie Underwood)**

Sometimes that mountain you've been climbing is just a grain of sand, and what you've been out there searching for forever is in your hand - So Small (Carrie Underwood)

* * *

><p><strong>DON'T FORGET TO PM ME WITH YOUR CHOICE!<strong>

**Also: **Just to clarify, you're more than welcome to write father/son Darren/Larten fics, just not Larten/Darren slash.

Remember, you can write a DSS fic, a Saga of Larten Crepsley fic, a Harry Potter fic, or a crossover of any/all! Combine that with all these quotes and you've got yourself a million options :) I'd sincerely love to read some SLC/HP fics for this (you don't get any extra credit, but I'd still love it :D)!

I'm really happy that I got the interest of at least 7 people! Here's hoping for lots of entries! I can't wait to read the awesome stuff you guys will come up with! :)

~Amelia


	3. WINNER ANNOUNCED!

All righty, everybody! The results are here! First, I want to thank everyone who entered :) Five entries is definitely a good turn out, and I really enjoyed reading each one! Big thank you to **BlueBookworm512,** **Radar180, Rowan Rawr, Roxypony, **and **Wolfgurl6 **for entering! I loved seeing what each of you did with your quotes, and for all of them, you came up with something completely different from what I'd have expected, which was awesome!

Since it's summer, and since you were all wonderful to enter, and since five is a manageable number, I decided to say something about each of yours (in order of their publish date – this order doesn't represent the winners or any order in which I've placed you):

To **Radar180**, for _The Time Given to Us_** – **You really got this contest off to a terrific start! I think you set a very high bar for all subsequent entires. I was so incredibly thrilled to read something so well-written and truly heartwarming. You had the characters so perfectly in character, and there was some really great insight in your story! What a great way to use a great quote, and on top of all that, it was your first fic in the DSS/CDF fandom! Wow! You should be very proud :)

To **Wolfgurl6**, for _Back to December_** –** The way you wrote from Arra's POV, then Larten's, then from a narrator's view of them both made for a great, well-rounded perspective in this story! I love that you showed both sides of their thoughts on each other, their relationship, and the December it ended. The way you worked in the quote and followed it up with such a powerful last line was fantastic, and it gave me little chills. For you as well, this was a first in the fandom, and you should be pleased with the job you did!

To **Rowan Rawr**, for _Bat Broth -_What a great idea! I have to admit, I like that quote a lot, but I couldn't for the life of me have thought of a way to use it! But then you came up with something that fit it so perfectly! Of course, you used three of my favorite characters, and as usual, your writing of Arra/Larten was just adorable! A very cute idea to have them be the weird ones in the mountain who don't eat the stuff, and of course, have Gavner call them on it. Gotta love that Gavner (and the way you write him!)! Great job with this! It reminds me how much I miss the days of your regular updates :)

To **Roxypony, **for _TVF: Meet the Potters_ – It has been a long, long time since I have laughed so hard reading fanfiction. There were so many things I loved about this! I really hoped when I started this contest that someone would do a crossover, and I literally think I jumped up and down when I saw you'd written one! The way you manage to write the characters in a way that seems completely in character yet madly insane will always remain a mystery to me. There were many lines in this story that reduced me to tears - they were that epicly funny. Witch's hats off to you ;)

To **BlueBookworm512**, for _Come Back to Me_ – Words can't even begin to describe how much I loved the story you built around your quote! Again, I was so happy to see someone dare to branch out of the DSS/CDF fandom for this contest, and I adore that you included Wester! You have a truly remarkable way with words and emotions, and your spelling and grammar is impeccable – it's rare that I read something and don't find at least a couple mistakes and oversights, but I didn't notice any in your fic! I so loved your entry and your writing style in this (and your other story as well) that you earned yourself a well-deserved spot in my favorite authors list, a list that hasn't grown for a great while! Please, please keep writing, because I just want to keep reading :)

OKAY!

So, in conclusion, you all rock! :D As you can see, I had so many reasons for each of you (and there are plenty of things I didn't even mention above that I thought you each did so well) to win, but in the end, there can be only one winner. (There can, however, be more than one second placer, which is why I decided not to announce it :P)

Here you go, ladies and gentlemen! The winner of the Summer Quote Contest is...

**Roxypony!** **CONGRATULATIONS!**

When it came down to it and I had to begin nitpicking and narrowing down to one, I really had to think about more than just the basics, because you were all creative, you all used your quotes well, your characters were all in character, and you all had above-average (for fanfiction's standards these days, anyway :P) spelling/grammar. Because I really couldn't completely base it off those, I decided I had to go with the one that made me smile the most, because that's what summer should be about! I never stopped smiling through yours! Original and hilarious!

As for your prize...got anything in mind? Because I don't :P I'll give you a shout-out on my profile and Twitter, but other than that...I can offer you a oneshot, if you want? Just let me know when you know what you want! :)

Well, that wraps it! I hope everyone enjoys what's left of their summer! Great job to you all, and thanks so much for your entries!

Till next time,

Amelia :)


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